Finalist for UA Presidency to Appear at Campus Forum

Finalist for UA Presidency to Appear at Campus Forum

Dr. Robert Clayton Robbins speaks to media after his selection as finalist for the UA presidency on Tuesday.

Dr. Robert Clayton Robbins

ABOR's selection of Robbins as the finalist was announced at the Phoenix Biomedical Campus.

Dr. Robert Clayton Robbins, the finalist for the University of Arizona presidency, is scheduled to meet the campus community at 4:15 p.m. today in an open forum at the Environment and Natural Resources 2 building. The forum, being held in the building's auditorium, will be livestreamed.

The Arizona Board of Regents selected Robbins – one of two candidates – as the finalist on Tuesday during a special meeting at the Phoenix Biomedical Campus. The board plans to finalize its selection for president and begin contract negotiations on Monday.

An internationally recognized cardiac surgeon, Robbins has served as president and CEO of the Texas Medical Center – the largest medical complex in the world – since 2012. In that time, he has significantly enhanced TMC's commitment to collaboration, introducing five cross-institutional research initiatives centered on innovation, genomics, regenerative medicine, health policy and clinical research.

Prior to joining TMC, Robbins served as professor and chairman of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine, founding director of the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute, president of the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation, president of the Western Thoracic Surgical Association, president of the American Heart Association Western States Affiliate, president of the Bay Area Society of Thoracic Surgeons, and chair of the American Heart Association Cardiovascular Surgery and Anesthesia Council, among other roles.